Pale yellow manila folders have been used for many years to store business papers in file drawers. These folders are made from a paper which has a certain stiffness above that of ordinary stationery and upstanding tabs are provided on one of the top edges for carrying identification titles or data pertaining to the particular material in the folder. If all the tabs are on one location, for example, on the left upper corner, the front tabs will obscure the tabs of the rearward tabs unless the folders contain enough material to widen the space between the folders.
Accordingly, it has been a practice to provide multiple tabs, as, for example, a left tab, a center tab, and right tab. When these tabs are staggered horizontally in a drawer, they are much easier to identify and they do not obscure each other.
For some years, these folders have been made from a continuous roll of basic material which is cut into proper lengths, folded, and one of the edges cut to provide an identification tab which projects above the general edges of the folder. In the cutting of the edges of the folders, two rollers are utilized, one serving as an anvil roller and the other roller having a cutting edge which acts on the sheet supported on the anvil to cut the edges. In the known art, it has been necessary to replace the cutting roller to obtain a different tab location. This involves disassembling the machine, disengaging drive gears, replacing the cutter roller with a different tab cut and reassembling the parts to run a batch of folders with a different tab location. Frequently, these folders have multiple, closely spaced crease marks at the folded area to allow the folder to expand as it is filled.
The present invention is directed to a machine for accomplishing the cutting of multiple folder tabs without the need for using separate rollers. This is accomplished by providing a plurality of cutter knives on a single roller spaced circumferentially and arranged to be sequentially and selectively positioned to register with an anvil surface on a base roller, each cutter knife being formed to cut a different identification tab. The knives are selectively positioned to register with an anvil surface by temporarily disengaging the drive gears, shifting a roller circumferentially and re-engaging the gears. Accordingly, only one roller is needed to achieve the desired variety of tabs.
The invention also is directed to a quick release mechanism to facilitate the circumferential adjustment of the rollers with a manual lift to separate the rollers for adjustment.
Features and object of the invention will be apparent in the following description and claims in which the details of the invention are disclosed to enable persons skilled in the art to practice the invention, all in connection with the best mode presently contemplated for the practice of the invention.